The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Bhutan has not been left out of US President Donald Trump’s new tariff policy that slaps varying degrees of trade tariffs across the world. Bhutan has been slapped with 10% tariffs which means Bhutan’s exports to the USA will be 10% more expensive.
The tariffs hit every trade partner of USA from which USA imports things and that means 190 countries.
In 2024 USA was the sixth largest export market for Bhutan which exported Nu 368.154 million (mn) worth of goods. In the same year Bhutan imported Nu 253.283 mn worth of goods which meant a trade surplus of Nu 114.871 mn.
The question to ask is if Bhutan will return the favor and impose similar 10% tariffs on US imports.
Here a senior official from the Ministry of Finance said that Bhutan’s trade with the USA is negligible and while Trump’s tariff would make Bhutanese exports 10% more expensive there is not much export volume and instead Bhutan’s exports are in niche products which should not get effected.
The official said Bhutan also has no power to do anything here and so Bhutan will not be imposing reciprocal tariffs.
Bhutan’s largest export to the USA in 2024 is Ferro Silicon worth Nu 366.095 mn. Other exports are negligible like some cordyceps, mineral or aerated water and household items.
Bhutan imports a host of items from the USA with the largest import being Whiskies at Nu 14.051 mn. Other items are medical equipment, plastic items, tea, chocolate, cookies, vitamins, medication, make up, soap, glues, bags, printed matter, garments, footwear, life jackets, glassware, imitation jewelry, hand saws, engine and motor parts, medical sterilizers, centrifuges, machinery, computers, sparking plugs, phones, metal detectors, bicycles, airplane parts, inflatable rafts, etc.
Bhutan has avoided the heavy tariffs faced by other countries in Asia like China with 54 %, Vietnam at 46%, Myanmar at 44% tariff etc. Bhutan in fact is the minimal tariff category of 10%.
Bhutan’s largest trading partner, India, has managed to also avoid the worst of the tariff with a 24% tariff rate which means that India could take some advantage of it.
Bhutan avoiding heavy US tariffs will have long term value for the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) as other major economies all suffer from much heavier tariff.
Trump claims the tariffs are based on existing foreign tariffs on US goods, non-tariff barriers like subsidies, trade imbalance and currency undervaluation.
However, the primary aim seems to be to shift manufacturing jobs to the USA.
The tariffs have roiled global markets with fears of a global recession as a trade war starts. China has already imposed a retaliatory tariff of 34% and other major economies are slated to follow like the European Union.
